“It is nice to see we can act as a unity," Roel Jeroen van der Linden reflects for our series Art in Uncertain Times. "As a world population, we are finally taking a certain responsibility, although it is mainly a passive one. At least, it's kind of hopeful." As we continue to check in with friends in the creative world, we reached out to the Dutch artist living in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
Through his work, Van Der Linden playfully experiments with different techniques and styles out of sheer delight in the artistic practice. Creating both abstract landscapes, as well as an ongoing series of experimental autoportraits, his impetus is driven by a pure urge to create unrestrained by technical or stylistic limitations. As the Covid-19 pandemic began to intensify worldwide, he conceived a surreal series of works where his signature self-portrait format becomes obscured within normally reassuring landscapes of nature.
Appreciative of his adopted hometown and homeland, the artist has been active on his Instagram lately, showing how an otherwise bustling city, popular with tourists, looks these days. "No tourists in the city center! That is absolutely bizarre!" he writes from the Czech capital. "Normally we have here over 8 million visitors a year! So it is absolutely unique to see the normally packed streets empty! And I do not want to imagine the loss of income at this moment. A good time to reflect on our current system of cheap globalization."
"I get up early. I love to drink a few espressos and watch the sun come up over the city. I eat breakfast and slowly start to work while listening to music. I first stretch a canvas, then go for a run on Vyšehrad. I do that every other day. I am still doing some workouts like walking and running. I have a respirator that our friend made because everything was sold out, so that should be ok concerning Czech guidelines. I am also boosting my system a bit with extra red onions, oyster mushrooms, and sauerkraut.
"I return, take a shower and then start painting. After a while, I make lunch before working for another hour. Then it’s time to rest on the sofa, followed by starting in again and trying to make some big decisions about the work. When the sun goes down I stop to make some food and pour a wine! The current situation starts to be very similar to my 2019 self-portrait. I am not watching the news, I watch Toy Boy or Bob Ross in the evening. Just for fun. Normally this is the time I go out for some fun. 
"My social life is going down the drain, of course, usually we meet almost every night in a pub with friends. Prague is known for that culture. I miss my concerts and openings, obviously. It is also very weird not to be able to go out for lunch, which most people here do every working day! So that all came to a standstill, and you cannot recognize the city without this.
"I am not much influenced by the current situation in matters of work. Normally, I am either working on new paintings or I am working on presenting them in an exhibition. I have not thought much about what will be happening in the coming period concerning exhibitions, but yesterday I got an invitation to participate in an online exhibition organized by Filip Dvořák and Martin Kolarov. So that issue is now resolved. New things are happening already, and that's always refreshing the mind. It is a shame not to meet people during the opening though!
"Interesting how fast you can be brainwashed. Scary actually. Hopefully, our rational mind stays intact and we can return to our free democratic way of living ASAP."
Text compiled by Sasha Bogojev
